BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1), Philip Duncan [bill gates book recommendations TXT] 📗

quickly ran inside and started getting prepared for war, because a war was inevitable. Decklan went upstairs to his safe to retrieve every firearm and round of ammo he had. If they were to stand any chance, they were going to need all the firepower he had. Langley did the same with his giant duffle bag that he brought the first day he showed up. As if that wasn’t enough, Langley went outside to his car, popped the trunk, and pulled out a small armory. He kept this in his car in case shit ever went south out on the road and he needed to hit back, hard.

Between the two of them, they had over a dozen guns and probably fifteen hundred rounds of ammunition. Shotguns, 9mm handguns, a few high-powered rifles, two fully auto assault rifles, and several knives just in case they found themselves in hand-to-hand combat. They weren’t sure how many guys Vladimir was going to show up with or if he would even show himself.

“You know him better than I do—you think he will show up with his guys?” Decklan asked Langley.

“After what you did to Victor, he’s coming,” Langley responded.

“Good! We can put him down with the rest of them,” Decklan said.

“Agreed. But I need to be the one to do it,” Langley replied. “Ever since I lost my son, my entire life has been consumed by this man. The only way I will get true peace is if I get to look into his eyes as he takes his last breath.”

This sent chills down Decklan’s spine, and there was no way he would try to take that from Langley. “Roger that!” Decklan replied.

Decklan looked over at the clock in the kitchen that showed it was five minutes past midnight.

They sat patiently—locked and loaded, of course—waiting for the first shot to ring through the night air. Decklan kept peeking out of the living room window to see if anyone was trying to make a move on the house. But so far, nothing.

“They have to be coming, don’t you think?” Decklan asked.

“Trust me, they are coming,” Langley responded.

Another hour ticked by, and still nothing. Then…

“Did you hear that?” Decklan asked, as he looked out the window again. “Shit! Right there! Three guys coming up the front with two splitting off and one staying straight on.”

Langley, who had been sitting this whole time, almost acting like he was at peace with the situation, stood up and headed for the kitchen door to look outside.

“I see one sneaking up on my side,” Langley said, as he slowly unlocked the door.

“Langley, what the hell are you doing?” Decklan asked.

Langley cracked open the door just enough for his barrel to clear and fired two silenced shots into the guy’s chest. The guy hit the ground and Langley opened the door a little more to get a better visual and fired one more shot directly through his skull to finish the job. He slid back inside and locked the door.

“Got that asshole,” Langley whispered.

He quickly ran across the kitchen to the other side of the house where the dining room was. This was where the second guy split off, trying to find a way to flank them.

“You got eyes on your guy?” Langley asked.

“He’s right outside my window,” Decklan responded quietly.

He could see the guy checking if the windows were unlocked, but he mistakenly stood directly in front of it. Decklan took a couple steps back and fired a quick three-round burst from his silenced rifle directly through the glass. He went to check and saw the guy on the ground, lifeless in the grass.

“Make that two assholes down,” Decklan said.

“Nice job,” Langley responded. “We still got one more, but I don’t see him anywhere.”

They had managed to take out the first two guys with no problem and without having to exchange fire, but the third guy seemed to be lurking in the shadows. He was nowhere to be found, which left them both feeling uneasy.

“Son of a bitch! The basement!” Decklan said in a panic. “I forgot about the side door down there. It’s not locked.”

They both made for the basement door. Decklan went first, slowly walking down the stairs with his rifle at the ready, with Langley right behind him. As soon as they made it to the bottom, several shots rang out, nearly missing them both. They came from the side door, just as Decklan had suspected.

The basement was pitch black, but Decklan had a tactical flashlight on his rifle. He switched it on and quickly scanned the room. He didn’t see the guy, which meant he was hiding somewhere, waiting for his next opportunity to attack. They moved farther into the basement and Decklan went for cover behind the deep freezer that one of Vladimir’s guys was still in. He turned off his light so the guy wouldn’t know where he was.

“Go back upstairs and keep a lookout. I’m sure more are coming,” Decklan said to Langley. “I’ll take care of this guy.”

Langley made his way back upstairs before any more shots were fired in his direction. Decklan knew he needed to kill this guy quickly, before more showed up and Langley was left to fight them alone. Luckily, he had one huge advantage. He knew his basement inside and out so he could make a good guess where this guy could be hiding. He flipped his tac light back on and quickly shone it over near the giant wooden shelf that held all of his power tools. He caught a glimpse of the guy’s feet.

Gotcha!

He swung out from around the freezer, staying crouched so it was harder to be hit, and fired a single shot toward the ground, hitting the guy’s foot. The guy fell to the ground and now Decklan could see his whole body. He fired three more shots, two to the body and the kill shot to the head. He walked over to make sure the job was done. No pulse.

“Fuck you,” Decklan